via Cllrs rejoin MDC-T after recall threat – New Zimbabwe 29/04/201
THE MDC-T Bulawayo province has welcomed back some of its councillors who had reportedly dumped the party to join the MDC Renewal team.
Councillors Collet Ndlovu, Sheila Musonda, Lilian Mlilo, Gladys Mataka, Sheila Musonda had reportedly joined the Tendai Biti-fronted party and some of them had even been drafted into the party’s provincial and national structures.
However, the new party’s waning fortunes and threats by MDC-T to recall them from council as happened to the 21 Members of Parliament saw the rebels councillors retreating back to the so-called “big tent”.
The councillors were officially welcomed back in the presence of party president Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday at the provincial party offices.
Tsvangirai was in Bulawayo where he met with mayors belonging to his party as well as the Bulawayo provincial executive in a bid to quell simmering divisions within the province.
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com MDC-T Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Mandla Sibanda the councillors were officially welcomed back but said plans were afoot to recall them from council.
“The rebel councillors were officially welcomed (on Tuesday) and they said they have come back to the big tent. They have always been councillors but of late they have not been representing our party.
“There was a resolution to recall those that went to MDC Renewal and that resolution has not been rescinded; it still stands,” said Sibanda.
Quizzed on the current status of the councillors, Sibanda said they remain councillors until the party makes a decision on the issue.
“They haven’t yet been recalled so remain councillors for now but they are not MDC-T councillors. We are at an advanced stage of recalling them from council but there is nothing wrong with them being members of the party,” Sibanda said.
An MDC-T provincial member who attended the meeting and spoke to NewZimbabwe.com in confidence said the party’s national executive will decide the fate of the councillors.
“The party, at national level, will make the decision on the status of the councillors but I don’t see us recalling them like we did with the 21 MPs. We are happy that they are back and have re-joined the party,” said the provincial member.
On Tsvangirai’s visit, the provincial member said the Matson Hlalo and Gift Banda tussle for the provincial chairmanship was high on the agenda, including the party’s decision not to participate in the upcoming June 10 by-elections.
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“In the meantime Dorcas Sibanda is the acting provincial chairperson but a national arbiter will come to solve some of the issues that are affecting the province.
“The issue of not participating in the by-elections was also discussed but it was more of a report back by the president to explain what happened at the national council and how they arrived at the decision. The report was well received by the province,” said the provincial member.
The provincial member added that Tsvangirai said if the by-elections were only for Bulawayo, the party would have sought direction from the province on whether they want to participate or boycott.
Tsvangirai also reportedly spoke at length about his alleged feud with his second-in-command, Thokozani Khupe, saying there was no rift between the two.
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